| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Great Pond Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Stuart Gross Path, Stuart Gross Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Monday, October 9, 2017 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking area at trailhead before gate on Don Fish Road, room for 6 or 8 cars. There is an information kiosk with maps and information about the GreatPondTrust.org |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Near the beginning of the path there is a nice foot bridge over a dry stream (today) |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Path/Trail was well signed and blazed. Blazes not on trees but blue spray paint on granite slabs and ledges. I did notice one directional blue arrow nailed to a tree near the open ledgeface where there looks to be a number of different ways to go. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Yes saw a happy dog |
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 | Bugs: |
none |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
The information on the trail signs and kiosk called this the Stuart Gross Trail but I also picked up a trail map that said paths are for foot traffic only and trails welcome horses and bicycles (we did see some mt bike tracks high up). In a short distance the trail bears right and here there are signs that prohibit horseback riding and mt bikes and another sign instructing hikers to go right, so this first 1/4 must be a path. The path goes right over a wood foot bridge and some nice stone steps. (It looked like perhaps horses and cyclists could go straight to connect to the old jeep road or perhaps have to access the jeep road further back down Don Fish Road--not clear). We arrived at a trail junction with a signpost in the middle and also another sign pointing "To Summit" with a trail map as its background. From this point the amount of granite increased until finally it was a granite slab all the way to a nice open ledgeface--we could see the Bucksport Bridge and Blue Hill but the rain and clouds were moving in fast. There were blue spray painted blazes on the granite and we followed them over the over area and then back into the trees where we looped over the summit, marked by a cairn. Near the summit I noticed some boundary makers and a bootleg trail marked with rusted tin can top nailed to a tree? We continued following the blue blazes and the finished the loop over the summit and back to the large open ledgeface. Since the AMC's Best Day Hikes along the Maine Coast's map included ledges not far from the summit we decided we must find them and then we noticed blue blazes that branched off from a big blue blaze that we had walked by that indicated a junction--these blazes led us to the cliffs. Nearby foliage was bright and beautiful. We would like to return here on a clearer day. Rain got us by the time we returned to the car |
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 | Name: |
Nordic Gal |
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 | E-Mail: |
amybike@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2017-10-10 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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